Veora giggled. “You’d rather bed him than court him? Most women would have it the other way around. You’re a strange one, Tisi. Not like any other woman I know.”
That was very true.
CHAPTER 8
Tisera
We chatteduntil we reached the palace. Then we began the first run through of our clandestine process for getting to Prince Victor’s rooms.
The guards at the servant’s gate had been told to expect us and ushered us through. We passed through a storeroom and some kitchens before slipping into the servant’s halls. Once we reached the royal wing of the palace, we entered secret hallways, which even the servants didn’t know about. Those brought us out close to the prince’s rooms, only a short walk out in the open.
Before we returned to the regular halls, I checked to make sure the way was clear before escorting Veora to the prince’s chambers.
After I’d handed Veora over to the prince, I asked if I could go see my aunt, while I was there. Since I was already in the royal wing it wouldn’t be that far to Princess Alice’s suite. Victor agreed, telling me to return at the fourth bell. I left the lovers and made my way to Princess Alice’s suite.
Luckily, it was my aunt who answered my knock on the door and greeted me warmly.
“Who is it?” came the light and breathy voice of Princess Alice from deeper inside the suite.
“My niece Tisera,” Aunt Emri called back and closed the door behind me. We made our way through the entrance hall to the main room where Princess Alice struggled to stand. Emri went and helped her up.
Alice had been weak and frail ever since she’d contracted the waning sickness as a child. She’d survived, but had been sickly ever since, even as a grown woman. She was a few years older than I, but quite small and slight of build, very fragile. She had the same blond hair and jewel eyes of all royals and most nobility. In her case, the hair was more a flaxen tone, a bit washed out, and the eyes a very pale blue.
“Come, sister,” she said, arms open.
It was what she called me whenever I came to visit my aunt. I’d grown to know and love this small princess, and since Emri had been like a mother to both of us, Alice always referred to me as her sister.
It warmed my heart.
I went to her and embraced her, very carefully. She was so weak I almost didn’t feel her hug. And even that much effort tired her. She swooned, unsteady on her feet. I helped her back to her chair, where Emri laid a blanket over her lap.
“Too much excitement!” she breathed, yet she smiled wide. “But I do love a visit.” Her face clouded a little after that.
I sat in the chair next to hers, pulling it close and held out a hand for her to clasp.
I felt sorry for the woman. Even though she was a royal, she was pretty much confined to these rooms, partly because she didn’t have the stamina to go far beyond them, and partly on orders from the queen.
Alice had always been the black sheep of the family because of her frailty. The other royals tended to avoid her, not wanting to be reminded of what might have happened to them, if they’d been unlucky enough to have caught the same illness.
Alice was a stain on the otherwise active and hearty family. As such, I was one of her few visitors. Though, Prince Leonin did stop by now and then, of all her siblings he was the most welcoming of her. Thinking of Leonin, brought to mind Leo, the nobleman I’d started training, and I must have flushed a little.
Alice noticed. “Oh! Tisi, what is it? Are you well?” Alice asked.
Emri sat nearby in another chair, listening intently. She was a bit more worldly and very perceptive.
“No, I believe your mention of a visit got my niece thinking of someone visiting her. Is that right? A man perhaps?” my aunt said with a knowing smile. She seemed happy that I might have finally found a suitor.
“Yes,” I breathed and laughed.
“Oh, Tisi! That’s wonderful, who is he?” Alice asked, squeezing my hand, with little strength in the gesture.
“His name is Leo. One of the many nobles named after your brother.”
“Yes,” Alice laughed. “There was an abundance of Leos after my brother was named. It seemed to catch on amongst the nobility.”
“Well, one of them found me,” I said.
“A noble?” my aunt asked, very curious and excited.
